HOW TO: Monitoring CPU and GPU Temperatures In-Game/In-Benchmark with On-Screen Display

Thanks for the update RV - yeah mate, I have a god idea where to read up on HWiNFO

Your advice has been great - as too, that of Mr. Fox so thanks to both you guys! - I guess primarily, I wont use the fan control aspect of HWiNFO but that doesnt mean to say I dont want to be able to in the future and know how to correctly set it all up without latency.

I have a good 60+ pages of reading ahead of me to learn a bit more about HWiNFO so right now, I will stick to using it solely to monitor as per Mr. Fox's great guide here.

Happy Easter to all on NBR!

 

Happy Easter back to you.

For most users, there will not be a need for manual fan control if their system is functioning properly. I do like the ability to force them to 100% for benchmarks, but other than that, they're always in "system auto" mode for me. The system monitoring features are second to none in my book.

 

Thanks residualvoltage! Rep+ This worked like a charm! I had the same issue steviejones133 was having with HWiNFO64 not starting automatically regardless of settings.

I did the same with no luck Stevie. I showed up on the "Green Scene" around the time the 296.10 drivers came out; the DPC Latency Fix was no longer needed. I think I would have run into the same issues with the DPC Latency fix as well. This is very concerning not being able to run programs properly by using the StartUp Folder. I'll have to do some experimenting and research when I get some time.

Glad you are all sorted out now.

 

It certainly is rather annoying, Zero.....for me, its almost as if the SSD's are in a hurry to boot and skip a beat. I'd be interested to hear of any findings you may happen accross if/when you look into it more -as of now, RV's method of a scheduled task does the job just fine.

 

Nice method, big pity AB isn't as customiseable as rivatuner was.

Any way to get the frame rate display stat showing through hwinfo?

 

doesn't seem so since AB goes the the 3D api stuff and HWiNFO does not tap into that... but AB does show FPS in this monitoring OSD setup

Just some additional HWiNFO information. Mumak clarified two settings I will quote him now for helpful clarification. I mention to disable gpu i2c but its not required to be disabled its optional.


" I have noticed, that I haven't responded to this question.That grid (SMBus Device Exclusion) is used to disable access to SMBus devices. In most of systems, there are devices like certain sensors, SPD DIMM EPROMs and some others which are connected to the system via a bus called SMBus. Every device resides on a certain address on the bus. HWiNFO enumerates this bus to locate such devices and in most cases this works perfectly. However I have noticed that there are very few systems where accessing a certain address (or device) on that bus might cause problems (freeze, hang, etc). So in such case this is used to exclude such device from the scan. I most cases there is no need to care about this matrix. I did this only for the few ones, when a user would have such rare system, so I can tell him "check the box for address nn and you should be fine".

I'd also like to clarify the "GPU I2C Support" setting. I recommended to disable this for notebooks in the past. The reason was not a stability issue, but more likely a speed up. Scanning the I2C bus on GPUs takes some time, especially on modern GPUs. HWiNFO does this to detect discrete/external sensor chips located on GPUs and since I'm not aware of notebooks having such sensors, I recommend to disable this on such machines to improve HWiNFO start-up speed."
-Mumak

Thank you Mumak for this additional clarification.

 

Correct, it does. It has to be selected to show in OSD. See attached.

 

hi guys,

please can you help me i tried to run the HWinfo program and i got a bit worried...

I then realised my fans where not working...

i dont know what i did but the fans are coming on unless i control them manually.... i think for me i better get back to normal if i can...

how do i get the system to control the fan speed and remove this program until i understand it more...

the only way i get get the fans to come on is if a switch them on manually...

i have attached a picture of the config screen....

please help me

thanks alot

Ian

 

Ian,

If you have played around with controlling the system fans manually using HWiNFO64, it should be quite simple to revert the control of your system fans BACK to your computer and NOT HWiNFO64. Take a look at the pic below that Mr. Fox posted earlier in the thread. You can see the small fan icon at the bottom of the HWiNFO64 sensor window.....clicking that opens up the fan control window. From there, it should simply be a case of hitting "system auto" to return to automatic system fan control.

Let us know if that fixes things for you.

Note: You dont have to use manual fan control to benefit from the in-display readouts that are available - if you are worried or concerned about it, dont use HWiNFO for fan control - just follow the setup guide for monitoring purposes only.

 

Hi mate,

Thanks a lot for replying its much appreciated...

I did press the system auto button but the fans never kicked in and it went up to 55c on the CPU and the fans just didn't move at all, not even at low speed...

I was wondering if I have damaged something in the m17 because I must have pressed the manual fan control and not set the fan speed...

Went to play crysis 2 for 5 mins and checked the Tempretures of the gpu and it was reading 113c, I panicked and shut the laptop down to allow it to cool...

One thing it has done is melted the back cover slightly, it's not gone out of shape but it's been affected by heat.

I have only had it 2 days, not looking good so far...

I have removed the battery as and as soon as I can get my 2yr old back to bed I will give it a try... Fingers crossed the fans start to work..

Just a quick question at what Tempreture should the fans begin to come on...

Once again thanks a lot for the reply... Just a little worried.. I have been blown away with the graphics of this machine, since moving into pc gaming from my trusty old xbox360..

Ian

 

Hopefully you wont have caused any permanent damage but 113c is extremely hot - I'm not suprised it melted the bottom panel a bit!

Regarding system fans, they normally kick in at around 63c from what I have monitored. As soon as one gpu hits that threshold, my fans come on and the temp drops rapidly to high 30c's.....you might see this pattern "taking turns" with your gpu's - whilst one heats up to that threshold, the other will be cooling down.....thats kinda normal.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you that everything is still OK....keep us informed!

 

Hi mate,

Been playing a quick few goes on ridge racer rebounded... Played it for about 25 mins, and start with the gameplay was as silky smooth.... Than after abut 10 mins fps dropped like a stone and again the fans didn't kick in at all...

Looks like something is wrong somewhere.... Not sure where though...

If I load up hwinfo and switch the fans on manually they work find, but the system is not able to control them for some reason...

Not sure what to do next to be honest...

Ay advice very welcome

Thanks

Ian

 

I'm not an expert on using HWiNFO for fan control - I have always let my system do it for me. I assumed that hitting "system auto" would revert control back to your system but if its not doing that and your fans arent spinning up, there could be something wrong.

I know that Mr. Fox and Residual Voltage are pretty clued up on fan control - maybe they could help you more than I could do. I would hate to tell you to do something and make things worse.

The only thing that I could possibly suggest would be to roll back your system (system restore) to an earlier point in time BEFORE you started making changes......that should revert your system back to how it was before hand. See if fan activity is restored to normal.

If you dont feel comfortable with that, I would suggest you wait for Fox or RV to see if they have better advice on how to get you back to normal....

 

Hi mate,

Since my last post I took out my ssd from inside my m17 and put the original hard drive I got with it, so it was a clean Alienware install win 7 home edition 64 bit.

Downloaded a gpu and CPU widget to watch the temps and after about 5 mins the CPU fan kicked in.

The gpu temp got to 70c and still the fan didn't kick in, at that point I switched it off...

This doesn't look good to be honest and this hard drive didn't have any games or apps loaded onto it so it was pretty clean drive for testing if normal services would resume, and they haven't...

Not sure what else to do, perhaps mr fox or RV maybe able to help, but I have a horrible feeling the gpu is damaged.

I think I won't be tinkering anymore, I have certainly learnt my lesson.. And it could be an expensive one... 2 day old machine as well..

 

I kinda thought that it could be worst case scenario.....113c is a super hot temp for your gpu's to have been hitting. As you have effectively rolled back by reinstalling your original HDD so you never did any tweaking, its got to be hardware related. Hopefully, you might be able to get cover under warranty.....with fingers crossed.....

 

IanC, I am hoping Dell / Alienware support will be able to assist you. Having this happen two days into ownership is unfortunate. Please keep us posted.

Brother Stevie, Rep+ for trying to aid IanC. I am not well versed in HWiNFO fan controls either and could only watch from the sidelines hoping for the best for IanC. Hopefully Mr. Fox and residualvoltage can point us all in the right direction in the event we run into this same situation.

 

They should make this a Sticky. I cant even remember how many threads Ive seen start with CPU and FAN temp. Thanks for an awesome contribution. <Bookmarked>

 

Funny you should mention that. This thread was a sticky several days ago. Mr. Fox added it to his "Useful Links" resource thread.
</bookmarked>

 

Thanks for the compliments. I had it sticky for the first week or so.

IanC - does your M17x R3 have AMD 6990M, GTX 580M SLI, or some other GPU?

 

Hi mr fox

It has a single gtx580

Thanks

Ian

 

Zer0WaitState - in HWiNFO64 did you set the RivaTuner plugins to use different line numbers? If you missed that, it could be why the OSD numbers are overlapping.

Edit: I re-read your post. I realize it could be a bug that only affects some users. Thanks for posting the information.

IanC - If you set up a custom fan profile using the wrong sensor, it may be stopping your fans from running. If you prevent HWiNFO from starting with Windows (disable the auto startup) will the fans work properly?

 

No Problem Mr. Fox ;-) I hope the post helps others. Strange how the current AfterBurner (v2.1.0.) does not have the latest OSD Server.

 

[LEFT[/LEFT]

hi

Would this still be a possibility even if I have swapped the hard drive out that was using hwinfo with for a hdd with a clean install of win 7?

Just wanted to ask? I will have to test in the Morning as its 2:15am here in the uk

Just so you know my CPU fan is working its just my gpu fan is not kicking in

Thanks

Ian

 

Important... Are you on the latest bios? Next stop running hwinfo at all until you you solve the system on stock fans. In most cases like mr fox said tell hwinfo to not start with windows and fully power down system. This fully disengages fan control via hwinfo. Power on if fans are not kicking in... Manually check your fans wires if they are plugged in and not cut frayed or in your case regretfully hopefully not melted. Now all checks out still issues I have feeling it's not hwinfo related. As that would disable what's been modified. If that's case a repair may be due. To use hwinfo with no interface to the fan control (to test temps and monitor but not use fan control panel) disable "EC-ACPI" etc and also uncheck "SW-SMI" then no control is implemented and therefore cannot interfere with the systems normal behavior. Btw guys please be sure every aspect of hwinfo,s been configured like shown in pics... If using auto fan control profile the HWiNFO must be set exactly... or fan drop outs can occur. When just using the OSD to monitor most should not even need manual fan control so by default to be safe most should disable both the above mentioned. I am very sorry to hear of the damages. It's hard to tell actually if it's from HWiNFO or from existing defect in fan. I strongly suggest a full visual inspection with the base cover off to see the fans. If manual max fan was turning all fans on at max then the fan is fine and having HWiNFO disabled after a full shutdown resets fans ec to stock... HWiNFO in no way changes anything permanently or physically in anyway. Again sorry to hear of the damages. Disregarding what could have initily caused it... If you go through all that and that gpu fan doesn't actually kick in look at it physically don't go by sound or feel of air... Then whatever caused you 113c meltdown could of damaged the gpu or fan. In anycase please try the above if worst case scenario restore so dell doesn't act like you caused this issue (don't think you did) and explain the overheating and say since it's melted you'd like the damages repaired and if physical enough damage maybe get the system swapped... Best scenario is it all works once followed those steps.

 

I know you got it working now Zero - but purely for info purposes and for anyone else who may have problems - if you click on the link for Afterburner in Mr. Fox's initial post, it will take you direct to v2.1.0. If you look on the right side, there is a list of other downloads. What worked for me was to download the latest Afterburner Beta. My version is 2.2.0 Beta 15 and I have had no problems.

I am also using HWiNFO64 version 3.92 1515 as stated in the same post.

 

Awesome guide Mr Fox - the MSI Afterburner ingame temp gauge is totally win, loving it +rep

 

OH MAN!!! Wow, I feel really..uhmmm.. let's say "silly". I just went straight for the first link at the top on the left. Now I see the "Download the latest MSI Afterburner BETA" link right under it that points to MSIAfterburnerSetup220Beta.zip. Thanks Stevie! More Rep+ is still on the way.. I just need to spread the joy around once more.

**** EDIT 04/15/2012 - Mr. Fox, please delete my post as it is probably better to download the v2.2.0 beta instead... LOL!! I added an "Edit Note" to the post suggesting to use the beta version instead and gave Stevie "props" for the suggestion. ****

 

Don't sweat it Bro, I've done far worse - believe me! .... your workaround to it was awesome in itself so +rep for that!!

On a side note, I hope IanC has made some headway into getting back to normal......

 

Thanks Stevie! I just updated my previous post letting everyone know to read the "Edit Notes" first.

Yeah, I am hoping IanC covers some ground too in getting his M17x straightened out.. fingers crossed.

 

Brother Zer0, I deleted the post as you requested. I am using AB v2.2.0 beta 15 and that includes OSD server v4.3.3 as you have discovered. Glad that is sorted, bro.

 

Thank you Mr. Fox! I'm am glad the issue has been sorted out as well thanks to Stevie "Eagle Eyes" Jones...LOL!!

I went back and saw your Afterburner screenshot in Post #1, Spoiler #3 was using v2.2.0 Beta 14... I missed that detail.. my bad.

 

me too I hope IanC has the systems working....

 

Mr. Fox shouldn't this thread be in the general Alienware forum ?

It's helpful for everyone, and many don't know this thread even exists, I myself stumbled upon it by mistake.

 

Probably so, Ryan. Thanks for the suggestion. I'll move it there.

 

good morning gents,

just wanted to update you all where iam with my m17x...

i just wanted to start off by thanking in particular Steviejones133, Mr Fox and RV....

and everyone else who replied.....

THANK YOU....

to be honest this is my first windows pc in over 17yrs, this has been for two reason, main reason being work they all use imacs and then theres apple customer support... they are good....

right where im upto....

RV my BIOS VER is 4.0... quite an old one as i have seen VER 8 around the forum....

so after checking and testing what ever one had post, i have now tried them all. making sure HWinfo does start up when i boot up windows. made the fan control was set to system.... still nothing...

to be honest i dont think my gpu fan has ever worked, the reason for this is my cpu fan is working via system control and is controlling the cpu temp very well. and i can here it...

what i didnt realise is the noise the fan makes from the gpu under load, i have never heard it until i switched it on via the manual control in HWinfo.

so yesterday (sunday) i called alienware technical support and after 15 mins on the phone and some simple system test the techinical engineer placed an order for the parts needed to repair my m17x, there are

gpu - nvidia gtx580m
heat sink
fan
bottom sliding cover

an engineer has been arranged to fit these parts tomorrow (tuesday) so all being well by tomorrow evening it should be all fixed, fingers crossed...

now i just want to say i have to take my hat off to Dell (Alienware) they have been fantastic and i must say it has been a very pelasent suprise of the service they offer when something goes wrong... absolutely first class so far...

im a true convert.... i have really missed my m17x since it stopped working...

so thanks once again i will post another (hopefully) final update tomorrow when its back up and running...cant wait

thanks alot

Ian

 

That's great news Ian, hopefully, you will be back up and running in not time at all! - Dell warranty rocks - I doubt any other manufacturer would do what Dell are doing for you so its hats off to "Team Dell" once again!

 

Great IanC it's good to know you'll be up and running in no time I'm glad it's all being replaced.

 

Great post guys! Follow the guide and it works +reps!

But got a newbie question....I can't find anything about changing the font...? Any idea?

Also report back, this setup works on Anno 2070, but no luck on Dota 2

 

If you look at the rivatuner window, go to "raster 3d" and click on it - you can choose font from there.

 

From Mr. Fox's screenshot, I can see his rivatuner have "raster 3D" setting, but mine one don't have that...

This is what my rivatuner looks like....

http://rapidshare.com/files/2888617407/img.jpg

 

I see.

What version of MSI Afterburner do you have? - I'm thinking that you downloaded the slightly older version from Mr. Fox's direct link but if you click the same link, on the left of the page, you should see "Download latest MSI Afterburner Beta" - that's the version I have installed - maybe the older version doesnt have those additional settings.

You could try an uninstall your current version, download the latest beta and see if that corrects things.

 

Problem solved, MSI beta 220 have the feature wheather stable 210 don't.

Thank you very much for helping out!

 

Excellent! - thought that might have been the case...glad you got it working!

 

Running MSI Afterburner immediately causes my system to freeze. This has happened in the past as well with various versions of gfx drivers.

Also, I don't know if it matters, but the Riva Tuner OSD option is listed as "not available" in HWiNFO64. And, I'm using Sapphire Trixx to OC my cards, which has disabled ULPS.

So, anyone have any ideas as to why Afterburner is being funny? Any and all help much appreciated!

 

I don't have my old system but I had an M17x R2 with 5870m crossfire and when I tried afterburner long ago I had same issue with bsod on launch. i didnt get it to work...

 

hi guys,

just an little update on my m17x r3...

the engineer came out yesterday, so please bear with me as my 67yr old dad was the person over seeing everything.

i waited at home till 12 noon, and the engineer arrived at 12:30 which to be honest was the time he had planned but i only got the call an hour before to let me know the time he was arriving...

so after agreeing with the tech on the phone the day before on the parts that where going to be swaped, the engineer did not bring them and said there where not on the list to swap. the parts he did swap where the two fans. as they thought the fans where faulty as they were not coming on.

so he swapped the fans out and ran the diagnostics (pressing one of the F keys on boot up) he was able to manually control the fans and they both ran at various speeds. he also checked my bottom plate and ordered me a new one over the phone.

so at that point the engineer didnt actually switch the laptop on to test in a real life windows useage to see if the fans would automatically come on due to heat being sensed.

so i got home last night about 9pm, i must admit as was a little excited. having a alienware laptop just sat there for 4 days is not good and not be able to use it...

i switched it on and used it for browsing, you tube but no games.... watched the temp starting to climb for the cpu and gpu... after about 20 mins i could already hear the cpu fan and the temps where great for what i was doing....

but the gpu was at 80c and the fan had not moved since i booted into windows... and as the minutes went by it climbed some more...

i then switched off the laptop and called alienware support...

im now awaiting a call back to decide where we go from here. they have said its either the gpu or motherboard that needs replacing.. gpu i dont mind having it replaced because thats what i was told was going to be done yestderday. but if the motherboard needs replacing im not sure if i should ask for a replacement m17x...

i will update some more once i hear back but i will probably start a new thread as this is distracting away from what this thread is all about and its not fair on the OP...

thanks

Ian

 

Hi Ian,

Are you still within your 21-day return window? You might want to go ahead with a new replacement system if possible. It is way too soon to be having these issues right out of the box.

 

Yep, the same problem I had. I knew right away when I saw stevenhsiao's screenshot.

 

Us poor guys in the UK only get a 7 day window - might be a good idea though as Ian identified the issues right away and contacted Dell about it. Could always push for a replacement if outside of the UK returns window based on that......

 

gents,

just a little update to let you all know my m17x r3 is now fixed and running perfectly. they replaced the motherboard, gpu, heat sink and fan...

played crysis 2 on high detail for 2 hrs last night just to test it and it ran superbly.. gpu temps did not go above 60c at all, and when they did hit 60c the fans kicked in and took the temps back down to 57c...

really really happy with my overall experience of Dell (Alienware). in fact im that happy i have emailed the CEO just so he know what a customer experience is like.

i feel its far to easy to send negative comments, but its equally important they hear about excellent experiences like mine...

thats it from me thanks to everyone, and if you read this post (DELL employees) THANK YOU...

im now a dell switcher... i just wish i had bought one years ago... my xbox 360 looks rubbish now...

thanks

Ian